By Ellis Widner

Grab those earphones. It's time for a whirlwind musical tour around the world. We've got a dozen words or less on a dozen world music recordings.

Most of the CDs include booklets with English translations of lyrics, but most of the artists imbue their music with an unmistakable passion that conveys myriad universal emotions and feelings, from toe-tapping dance music and deeply spiritual reflections to thoughtful takes on love and social issues. With or without translations, these recordings are evidence that music is indeed a universal language.

Dobet Gnahore, Na Afriki, Cumbancha
Ivory Coast Afropop singer's Tracy Chapman-esque voice inhabits compelling, lived-through songs.